Ford job losses to have flow-on effect

Geelong Advertiser - Rebecca Tucker, August 27th, 2008

GEELONG is facing disaster as the automotive industry prepares for the fallout of Ford's latest job cuts, according to the manufacturing union.

Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union car division federal secretary Ian Jones spent yesterday in talks to gauge the full impact of Ford's decision.

"It would be fair to say every automotive distributor in Geelong will be affected by this," Mr Jones said.

He did not want to panic companies but "manufacturing businesses are already running pretty close to the wind in terms of their profit margins".

"Most don't have a profit margin," he said.

On Friday, Ford announced between 300 and 350 jobs would be slashed at its Geelong and Broadmeadows plants in mid-November, with car production to be cut by 15 per cent.

By 2010, more than half of Ford Geelong's 1300 manufacturing workers will be out of work after the company's announcement last year of its plan to axe 600 jobs when its six-cylinder engine production ends.

Mr Jones said the flow-on effect would not only hit suppliers, but the education sector could eventually feel the pain.

"The TAFE sector provides training and education on a large scale to the automotive industry so that will feel the effects," he said.

Mr Jones urged the Federal Government to implement the recommendations from a report by former Victorian premier Steve Bracks on the automotive industry.

The union supports much of the report's findings, but does not agree with Mr Bracks' call to reduce the passenger motor vehicle tariff from 10 per cent to 5 per cent by 2010.

Other recommended industry reforms include doubling of the green car innovation fund to $1 billion and establishment of a $2.5 billion automotive transition scheme that would provide subsidies to car manufacturers until 2020.